Thanks To Berea!

This project was made possible by the Appalachian Music Fellowship at the Berea College Library & Special Collections.

(for more information about the grant, should you feel inspired to do research of your own, their website is HERE.)

There is, sometimes, a perception, that archives are where recordings and old photographs are stored & shut away, never to see the light of day, and never to be seen or heard by inquiring and eager musicians.

For Berea, this is not the case. What an accessible place to work and learn! Such an eager & helpful group of archivists, who always seem truly excited to see the content of the archives explored and shared -- whether it be for an academic project, or artistic pursuit.

And, what a collection. Hundreds of hours of fiddle tunes, banjo tunes, stories told by old men and women, letters, and photographs of old barn dance radio stars gone by.

Some of the content of the archives are available to listen online HERE.

But, best to stop by one day, yourself.

Special thanks to Harry Rice, Shannon Wilson and John Bondurant for their encourangment and chit chat, those three months I spent in Berea.